The ancient custom of Hurling the Silver Ball starts at 10.30am today in St Ives, Cornwall, when the Mayor will throw a silver ball into the crowd, to be passed around until noon, when the person holding it will win five shillings. No, we don’t know why either, but it sounds like fun!
Any day now, the snowdrops will be joined by the first crocuses of the year. See if you can spot any if you’re out for a walk today.
Charles Dickens was born on this day in 1812. To celebrate, the house in Portsmouth where he was born will be open to the public today, but if you’re not in the area, why not commemorate his birth by reading one of his short stories?
Spend some time today rediscovering the simple pleasure of one of the silly games you used to play as a kid. Consequences is always good for a laugh, or try battleships or good old noughts and crosses - who needs a Wii when you’ve got a pen and a scrap of paper?
Today is Stress Down Day, when we’re all encouraged to donate
You’ve got until the 26th of this month to enter a film of your favourite simple pleasure into our festival for the chance to win
Anyone with a love of the great outdoors should check out the Banff Mountain Film Festival, a showcase of some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes. It’s in London today, but moves on to other UK locations over the course of the month.
Today is Candlemas Day, traditionally a time for weather prognostication. Legend has it that, ‘If Candlemas Day be fair and clear, there’ll be five winters in the year,’ so let’s hope for wind and rain today!
Many of us find it difficult to switch off, and if you ever feel that the stress of modern life is getting to you, perhaps it’s time you learned some relaxation techniques. Yoga, meditation or self-hypnosis should do the trick - or if they’re not for you, try a long bath or a bracing walk.
If you’ve always fancied keeping a diary but never got around to it, why not start today? There’s no law that says you must begin on 1 January and, in fact, we think it makes far more sense to start now than in the hustle and bustle of new year’s celebrations.
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